The Alpha's Christmas Miracle

His breathing was shallow his soul was at war. The man standing beside his bed was no longer the Alpha of his pack. He was a father who was about to lose his son. The Long Road was calling him to his mate, his Destiny. The Alpha was as old as time itself. He had never lost a child despite his advanced years. He would not lose Rhys the future leader of his pack, more than that he was his son.

A lie was told in order to save his son. He could not live if his son died. He did as any good father would he used whatever means necessary to save his son.

The gray at his sons temple was receding. His breathing was still shallow but improving. His son now had a chance to claim his mate, to keep his soul anchored to this life.

The Alpha looked over at the woman he adored, his mate. She held their son to the earth with a mother’s love. She called his spirit back giving birth to him over and over again. She was not pleased with the mate the gods has given her son. She would rain hell on her until she was satisfied that he was happy.

He watched as she touched his brow the color in his checks returning slowly. She was tender with their son while harsh with him for not demanding his mates return. She would forever hold against him the near death of their son. As he watched her his wolf called her to him.

The command came forth “Come to me now mate” her feet moved across the floor as she answered the Alpha her Alpha .The look on her face promised retribution. His need for her called out to her more than words could ever say. He rarely used the command on her. Tonight as their son’s essence made its way back to his body the beast in him demanded he claim what was his.

The Alpha grabbed her hand and kissed it as a way of asking forgiveness. She petted his head standing on tip toes to caress his lips with hers. Their lips touched the need to claim what was his raged as he ran his hand through her hair, thier tongues dueling.

The door opened and Destiny appeared. Tightening his grip on his mate, he pulled her close shielding the child so she would come to no harm. His mate hissed and clawed but he was the stronger of the two. She could not hurt their sons' mate he would die if she did. Destiny was his sons savior. No harm would come to her this night.

Kneeling next to his bed she kissed his forehead and touched his brow. His breathing soon matched his. Slowly tears of crystal began to fall from her eyes. Like the snow falling outside her tears began to blanket Rhys and cover his body.

Bathe in the tears of his mate Rhys raised his hand and touched her hair. Smoothing it down as crystal tears continued to fall from her eyes.

Watching, the Alpha knew his son would live for this woman. She was his Destiny. Pulling his mate closer he knew the child would not be forgiven as easily by the mother whose love saved her child. The child would have to prove herself worthy. Rhys mother would be unforgiving.

“Mother” his voice was a whisper but his mate heard it with a mothers ears. Breaking his hold something she never did before she went to her son.

“Yes, Rhys”

“Mother, I want you to protect and care for my mate until I heal”.

Smiling the Alpha knew his son was the right choice to take control of the pack. Rhys was smart and conning he was protecting his mate with the one women who could hurt her the most. His mother would do no other than what her beloved son asked.

“Mother promise me you will take care of my mate. I cannot heal if she is not safe. Promise me.”

The Alpha felt the conflict in his mate. She loved Rhys and she hated the young one. Looking over at the young one she snarled. Destiny had almost cost her a child and she would have her revenge.

“Mother, please for me” Rhys asked again using the strength of his mates tears. Strengthen their connection as Destiny fell into a deep sleep her tears still falling. Rhys could feel his soul returning slowly.

Smoothing his mates’ hair again Rhys slowly kissed her forehead as his mother snarled again.

“Mother she is young she does not understand our ways. If you blame anyone blame me. I let her go. She is back now she will stay”

Snarling again his mother’s struggle was on her face. The rage, the love, the hope, the fear, she’d almost lost him. She had suffered as the young one should.

“Mother she is mine, she is my Christmas miracle. If she lives, I live, if she is harmed, I am harmed, if she dies I die.” Baring his mates neck his mother saw his mark .

Preparing to snarl again his mother stopped. The mark tied this woman’s life to her son.

“This day let us celebrate the miracle of my life, rebirth”

The struggle was over a mother’s love won as her son knew it would. She would protect the young one with her life until her son was better. Then all hell would break out.

Dune Dragon

  
Upon a motored steed I climbed 
Mounded hills of dusted diamond 
Tempered moment forgetting time 
Wind licking, human touch undone 
 
Breezes stir sand through my hair 
Encircling me in a tawny cloud 
A dragon appeared hovering there 
Before my sight, simple yet profound 
 
Just how in this whirling wind he stayed 
So easily bouncing and shifting in flight 
Glistening green-eyed, locking my gaze 
Entranced I was by the curiosity of his plight 
 
For as I watched him flutter his wings 
Daintily fragile in their utter perfection 
Essence, my soul ebbed, desired to sing 
Darted away, witnessed not, his direction 
 
The little in life should give cause to wonder 
So simple a treasure brings tears to my eyes 
Who would expect their heart put asunder 
By the glorious simplicity of a dragonfly? 
 

A Dream?

Last night I lay resting

When sleep overcame me

I found myself falling

Down into a dream,

The darkness dissolved

Into warm summer meadows,

Where bright wild flowers

Were verging a stream.

I found I was walking

With you there beside me

You were casually talking

And holding my hand.

Then I turned toward you

To find you were smiling,

Right there at that moment

Was all that we planned.

I remember the fragrance

Of the dew on that meadow,

The song of the stream

That went rippling by.

I can still feel the warmth

Of your hand round my fingers

And the rise of your breast

As we kissed with a sigh.

I awoke to the pounding

Of rain on my window,

With that old Monday feeling

The start of week blues.

That dream was still with me

And filled me with wonder,

When I started to dress

There was grass on my shoes

Ten Things I learned While Visiting Alabama

Ten Things I Learned While Visiting Alabama:

1. There are no street signs. If you don’t know where yer goin’… yer shit outta luck.
2. There are no street lights. If you don’t have night vision… yer shit outta luck x2.
3. It is completely normal for a guy to be drivin’ a hunk o’ crap, half naked, while guzzlin’ a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. The muffler on his car is for dramatic effect, only. I like to call ‘em: “The Fast and the Ferociously Thirsty”.
4. Don’t pick up a caterpillar, cuz it might be a millipede.
5. Be careful when you climb trees. There are spiders everywhere, and they are always HUGE! Just like the beautiful trees they live in and the expansive webs they weave (which you are constantly pushing through).
6. It is completely normal for you to see people barbequing at the Texaco. What they are cooking, exactly… can be left to your imagination.
7. Don’t be surprised if you see a swing-set halfway in the middle of the street, or a trampoline leaning sideways on a hill, or a headstone right next to the roadside…  
8. Fried foods are a staple of the southern diet, and butter, and cream. Fried green-tomatoes and dill pickles = yum!! But they may truly be the only thing you will eat if yer a vegi.
9. It is common to see an immaculate mansion right next door to a run-down shack…and then a store… and then a church… and then a bank and then… Where are we again???
10. Moonshine is made with corn mash, sugar and road-kill… it helps it ferment faster. Matter-of-fact…armadillo is a favorite additive. No worries though, the moonshine eats away the armadillo’s shell.
11. Southern hospitality is not a myth. It is an absolute truth. I know this is numero eleven, but… The wonderful folks I met while in Alabama deserve a shout-out from a “flat-lander”. Visit the south. You will not regret it.

A Whispered Dream.....part 2.

She whispered,” Wake my love

It’s time to leave your mortal sleep,

For all the stars have turned and I

My vow to you will keep.”

She whispered,” See my love

The moon has risen blue and white,

And all the magic of its glow

Will shine on us tonight.”

She whispered,” Come my love

Tonight we fly on silent wings,

Across the ocean known as time

Where love forever sings.”

She whispered.” Now my love

Come  and take me by the hand,

So all the mysteries of love

You then will understand.”

Concerto in red

She looks, the devil
Flashing in her eyes,
Half turns her head
Her smile lingers still.
Then reaching out
Skin lightly touches skin,
That one caress alone
A sensuous thrill.

More red than passion
Woven to a gown,
That swirls and settles
Showing nature’s art.
Now loose and falling
Softly on the floor
In scarlet overture
To beauties part.

Now the wayward
Moonlight in the room,
Projects two shadows
Mingled on the wall.
That move in time
To that eternal theme,
Of nature's dance
To love's primeval call.

Earthshine Chapter one.

*1*

            All around me was white. The purest gleam of fresh fallen snow, simple and soft and blinding all at once. The gentle glow enveloped me, comforting me.

And she was there.

My memory of her had faded, as a negative exposed to extreme light, over time becoming translucent. But her presence lingered always, a ghost on the edges of my recollection. From her embrace, I was pulled. Sent unwillingly back into the world of ordinary. A place I never felt I belonged, but didn’t know why.

What a strange thing it is to be left alone. Put upon the earthen world, surrounded by strangers. With only a mist-filled memory to help you cling to your past, fleeting at best.

            But I was here for a purpose. That I knew. I could feel it resonating within the very depths of my being. Only I wasn’t quite sure what that purpose was yet. Matter of fact, I had no clue of who I was even.

The morning was happy outside my window, casting its smile into my room.  Above me the ceiling-fan whirled in an endless dance, stirring my silk canopy in a fluidic dance, cooling my flushed skin. The familiar tornado of forgetfulness had yet again razed my dreams into a stark wasteland, the only remnants—a profusion of sweat, and small crescent-shaped indentions in my palms. It had always been this way, for as long as I could remember. My arms felt remarkably empty, a spectral hum of energy tickled at my skin.

When I was three, a passerby discovered me wandering down the shoulder of Highway 93, heading toward Las Vegas, in the sizzling summer heat, naked, and alone. With no connection of who I was, or from where I had come. Those memories were buried somewhere within, satisfied at being forgotten.

But the fear remained. Even now, looking down the road toward my future, I feared being alone.

A tragic mistake of nature haunted by terrible dreams, and plagued by futile attempts to remember them.

My adoptive mother, Millie, had always been rock-solid, a fortress of patience and strength that amazed me.  When I was small and would have these nightmares, wake up confused, lost, and unaware of where I was. She would appear, like magic, into my room, pull back the canopy, snuggle up next to me, and let me bury my face in her thick brown curls. Cradling me, until I fell back to sleep exhausted from crying.

First page...too slow??

Let me know if this is too slow for a first page to a novel...


“Are you sure you want to go through with this?

Dorian looked at his best friend and frowned. “It’s the only way Princess Aria would ever marry a nobody like me.”

Lexer stared at the enormous mountain before them. “First of all, you’re not a nobody. And second, I don’t think we have a chance of keeping up with Veena. The woman is like the cross between an ox and a tiger. She’s an oxger. Or a tigox. Either one, you pick.”

Dorian laughed, but it was true. The guide they had rented from the local goat-herder was indeed a ball of energy, with zero patience.

“I’m waiting.” She stood, arms crossed, about fifty feet up the mountain. The glare in her eyes could not be mistaken.

“You heard the oxger.” Dorian began the steep climb up the mountain, followed closely by a laughing Lexer.

The two friends joined the guide and she led them through the dense foliage toward the Valley of the Cursed Mountains. Lexer soon lagged behind, enamored by the colorful flowers and unusual brush.

Dorian took a moment to examine their escort. She was pretty in a rugged, plain way. Her hair was dull blonde, tied back to keep the hair out of her face. Her eyes were a steel gray, a perfect reflection of her cold personality. But there was something about her.

“What are you staring at?” Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

He stumbled over a loose rock. “Nothing.” He tried to regain his balance gracefully. “You just look really familiar. Have we met some place before?”

She stopped, looking at him with a disgusted look. “Please tell me that’s not a pick up line.”

“What? No.” Dorian was equally disgusted by the prospect. “I just have this strange déjà vu feeling, that’s all.”

“Hm.” She resumed her walk, quickly outpacing him.

Lexer ran up and handed his friend a handful of what appeared to be violet flowers. “Check these out.”

The flowers shriveled in Dorian’s hands, then suddenly flew away.

“They’re bugs,” Lexor said with a huge grin on his face. He was easily amused.